Name: Alfred Biggler
Age: 45
Gender: Male
Occupation: farmer
Social Class: 3rd estate (peasant)
Financial situation: Extremely poor
Appearance: Tall, short brown hair, buff
Location (map): Burgundy
Habitual locations: Mäcon
Daily routine: Wake up 5 a.m work until 6 p.m take a shower make wine and get to sleep at 9 p.m
Personality/Quirks/Unique Personality Traits: Speechless
Past/individual-family history: I am the only son and my father's also the only son of my grandfather and so on.
Family: I am married, i have one son and one daughter
Social relations with your own and other classes (people you deal with or know about in other classes, AND your opinions and feelings about them): I make wine and sell it to the merchant at the market. Sometime the landlords or nobles come to my farm to get the finest wines they can get.
Religion: I don't believe in any gods or goddesses
Education: no education
Style of speaking in France: I have no accent
Languages you speak: I can only speak French and few English words
Main privileges and/or conflicts: I do not have any privileges.
Portrait: me and my cow
Diary # I: Before the StormTask: Using the character you created above write a short (500 word) story showing his/her life on a normal day during the last days of the Ancien Regime. Follow these guidelines: Length: minimum 500 words
use the first-person narrative voice ("I").
write as if you were writing in a diary or journal in 1788. Show images of the life of this time in France, as experienced by a person in the social class of your character. Give us glimpses of your character's environment and thoughts. Have them talk about, think about, or see people from other classes also. Make it realistic. Give your character voice and personality. Include at least one detail (image or dialog) that shows the following factors in your character's life:
political factors
economic factors
daily life
Tell a story of what happened in a single day in that character's life. Again, include "news from the bigger world" and your character's realistic reactions to this.
Try to show, in your story, how your character's behavior reflects the growing crisis of the Ancien Regime, which will soon erupt in the French Revolution.
Feel free to include pictures in your diary. (Give credit to the pictures by linking to your online source at the bottom of your page.)
NOTE: You will continue developing your character by writing further diaries set during the main events of the French Revolution--so try to make a character you're interested in. ALSO, read other students' diaries and start getting to know their characters, because you will start including their characters in your own diaries by having encounters with them.
Dairy #1
Dear Diary,
Today morning, it was a wonderful weather, without fogs that i saw the sunrise very clearly and 5 in the morning. As usual after i finished cleaning myself, i grabbed the bread left over from last night and a little bit of wine. After eating my breakfast, i went straightly to my grape farm with a basket. I picked grapes for 2 - 3 hours, then come back home to store them in my cold storage room. When i come back home, my wife and two children have woke up and they are eating breakfast at that time. After seeing my family's faces, i head back to the grape farm and do shoveling for 4 - 5 hours, to get ready to plant new grape trees. Around this time my wife and children come to see me with some food to eat as a lunch. They sometimes help me with my work. I get my work done much faster with their helps. I'm glad i have a family like this.
Working till 6 p.m. i talked with my family while eating the dinner. When we were eating the dinner, a clergyman came to my farm to ask about some wines he was looking for. Fortunately, I did have those wines in my storage room. Although those wines were pretty good and rare ones, I did not get paid as much as I expected to. However, I still got more than I would have got at the market. It is lucky to have visitors who are looking for wine because those people are usually rich or noble people who buy the wines for higher prices. But there is this weird feeling towards the rich people that is inside me. Although I really like them coming to my farm, but the fact that they are so rich to even come buy the specific wines in higher prices than in markets. Every friend of mine looks for the cheapest price in the market, in order to save a franc. I really feel that our life is so unfair. Although I work this hard, I don’t think I am getting rewarded for the works I do. Oh, also when I went by the church while coming back home from the market to check out the prices of wine, I saw many other farmers and peasant in front of the church begging for some money. Many of them started to shout out “What does church really do?” or “Aren’t they supposed to help us not take money away from us?” After the nobles hearing these from inside the church they shouted in an angry manner “How dare you guys question the church! We are equal and we serve for all. You guys do not have any reason to question and you should not either!” I wanted to go shout at the noble too with the other farmers and peasants, however I had a job where relationships were important so I could not just go there to just shout out few words.
I have to go to sleep now. Good night. I'll write something more tomorrow.
Diary #2: From Crisis to Revolution (Diaries from "The Moderate Stage", Reading 2)
Task: You have read Reading 2: The Moderate Stage. Length: 500 words per diary. (We will do a word count. It's not an essay, so you should let things fly--but do revise and polish.) Due date: Wednesday September 17 8 am Where to publish: On your character's diary page (linked in the table at the bottom.) Grading standards: In each diary entry, show images of this event in France, as experienced by a person in the social class of your character. Give us glimpses of your character's environment, actions, and thoughts. Have them talk about, think about, and act with or against people from other classes also. Make it realistic. Give your character voice and personality. Include at least one detail (image or dialog) that shows the following factors in your character's life during your 2 chosen events:
political factors
economic factors
daily life
Finally: "Steal" and include in each entry at least one other student's character from each Estate . You can read all characters' diaries by clicking on their links in the "Diaries" Table at the bottom of this page. (You can include more characters if you want. That would be fun.) This is a revolution. Allow all the chaos of it to happen in your diary.LINK YOUR DIARY TO EVERY STUDENT'S DIARY THAT YOU STEAL A CHARACTER FROM.
Today had been a gloomy day. It was raining since the morning, and while working too. It was harder for me to work in the rain and in bad environment and made me tired even more. After picking grapes for few hours after noon, I took my basket full of grapes and went to the market to sell them. I’m not sure whether it is because of the rain or not, but not many people were at the market. And I did not sell a lot either. When I was cleaning up my spot in the market getting ready to go home, I saw a soldier pasting a piece of paper with lots of words written on the wooden bulletin board. I walked toward the piece of paper and read what it said. “The Declaration of Rights of Man” I was at first excited to read and thought to myself ‘we are finally being treated somewhat equally’
However as I read down the big list of “Rights” I couldn’t keep it on. Only the title says the “Rights” however the actual words that were written on the sheet was “crap” I resisted my anger rushing up to my head. All the unfair things the nobles and clergymen do to us…I am so sick of what they do to us. They are like fat pigs who only thinks about them and has no respect or manners. They might look like they have “manners” but inside them? I’d say full of evilness and egoness. I calmed my self down and continued to walk back home and I saw the church. In front of the church, there were few nobles standing together laughing, laughing and laughing. I don’t know what makes them laugh so much like a devil who made a baby cry, I could see their shadows of greediness. It just drives me crazy that the fact that they have been doing this for centuries even to my father.
Also, the National Assembly has been formed few weeks ago, and I am giving my hope in for that. If the National Assembly can’t change anything, I am pretty sure we’re status or rights won’t change any further for quite a long time. We have to go against the nobles or first and second estates to get our equality. I can’t let this country ruin and crumble down like a piece or garbage... Oh well, I wish Louis can make right decisions that will develop France one step further not get trip and fall down. Dear diary, I am feeling a little bit sleepy right now, so I will stop writing here today. I know it doesn’t change much by writing all this crap in this diary, but I need someone or something to express my feeling towards the country because this is the country I live in and I love. Good night.
Diary #3-The Reign of Terror
Task: You have read Reading 3-Reign of Terror on the Moodle as well as pages 45-49 in your text
Length: 500 words per diary. (We will do a word count. It's not an essay, so you should let things fly--but do revise and polish.) Due date: Saturday September 20 8 pm Where to publish: On your character's diary page (linked in the table at the bottom.) Grading standards: In each diary entry, show images of this event in France, as experienced by a person in the social class of your character. Give us glimpses of your character's environment, actions, and thoughts. Have them talk about, think about, and act with or against people from other classes also. Make it realistic. Give your character voice and personality. Include at least one detail (image or dialog) that shows the following factors in your character's life during your 2 chosen events:
*
political factors
*
economic factors
*
daily life
*
Make sure you include at least one event that occurred during this time period Finally: Include one other character in your diary.This is a revolution. Allow all the chaos of it to happen in your diary. LINK YOUR DIARY TO EVERY STUDENT'S DIARY THAT YOU STEAL A CHARACTER FROM. Diary #3 Dear Diary, I’m scared. I’m afraid. I see Jacobins putting nobles in to the guillotine everyday, every hour, and every second. Jacobins are group of people who hate nobles and clergymen, in a “mad” way, which has been recently putting every noble or clergyman on the guillotine they see on the street or at church in the lead of a man called
Maximillian Robespierre. Although the Jacobins are “our team” they still scare me, and some of my friends. I’ve heard from my friend Francios about him seeing the Jacobins being executed in the guillotine. However to be real honest, I do feel kind of good. Well, I don’t necessary enjoy the way they are being executed and killed in a brutal way, but I like the fact that they are vanishing. Because this means that the higher classes will no longer exist, and everyone would be equal in status. It’s finally the day we were all waiting for. I also heard that the King Louis has been put at guillotine few days ago. When I heard this I had two thoughts in my head: One, I was pretty surprised at the fact that the King Louis was so “easily” put to death, when I used to thought he was “untouchable” meaning he is too high up there for us to even touch him. And another thought I had in my mind was fear. I was afraid that another tyrant leader might take over the place of the king and be another Louis. In this stage of terror in France, I am not sure, or nobody is really sure what will happen next and what will be the result for the actions. I know they are all doing this in order to “improve” the garbage like France. However I have to question whether this is the right thing to do. Even if the result turns out to be good, can it really be called “good” or “improved” when the process of achieving it was all wrong? Is killing all the nobles and taking higher estate away by using violence a right way to achieve our goal of making a “better France” I’m not sure. Many of my friends actually do support the San Culottes or Jacobins for their actions, but I am really confused about it. I just hope no consequences will follow after this great massacre, even if it was for the “good of the whole” Whole, being us, or the majority. I almost forgot to write about my day. Well, I did not go to farm today. I know I am little short on my money but I just couldn’t work in the middle of this terror. I decided that talking with my friends and family about what is going on in France was more important than making wines and making money. Well, today was a pretty simple but confusing day, which I know it makes no sense. It means I did nothing physically, but did a lot of work inside my head. I’m tired of thinking. I’m going to stop writing. I’ll write some ore when I need to.
Age: 45
Gender: Male
Occupation: farmer
Social Class: 3rd estate (peasant)
Financial situation: Extremely poor
Appearance: Tall, short brown hair, buff
Location (map): Burgundy
Habitual locations: Mäcon
Daily routine: Wake up 5 a.m work until 6 p.m take a shower make wine and get to sleep at 9 p.m
Personality/Quirks/Unique Personality Traits: Speechless
Past/individual-family history: I am the only son and my father's also the only son of my grandfather and so on.
Family: I am married, i have one son and one daughter
Social relations with your own and other classes (people you deal with or know about in other classes, AND your opinions and feelings about them): I make wine and sell it to the merchant at the market. Sometime the landlords or nobles come to my farm to get the finest wines they can get.
Religion: I don't believe in any gods or goddesses
Education: no education
Style of speaking in France: I have no accent
Languages you speak: I can only speak French and few English words
Main privileges and/or conflicts: I do not have any privileges.
Portrait: me and my cow
Diary # I: Before the Storm Task: Using the character you created above write a short (500 word) story showing his/her life on a normal day during the last days of the Ancien Regime. Follow these guidelines: Length: minimum 500 words
NOTE: You will continue developing your character by writing further diaries set during the main events of the French Revolution--so try to make a character you're interested in. ALSO, read other students' diaries and start getting to know their characters, because you will start including their characters in your own diaries by having encounters with them.
Dairy #1
Dear Diary,
Today morning, it was a wonderful weather, without fogs that i saw the sunrise very clearly and 5 in the morning. As usual after i finished cleaning myself, i grabbed the bread left over from last night and a little bit of wine. After eating my breakfast, i went straightly to my grape farm with a basket. I picked grapes for 2 - 3 hours, then come back home to store them in my cold storage room. When i come back home, my wife and two children have woke up and they are eating breakfast at that time. After seeing my family's faces, i head back to the grape farm and do shoveling for 4 - 5 hours, to get ready to plant new grape trees. Around this time my wife and children come to see me with some food to eat as a lunch. They sometimes help me with my work. I get my work done much faster with their helps. I'm glad i have a family like this.
Working till 6 p.m. i talked with my family while eating the dinner. When we were eating the dinner, a clergyman came to my farm to ask about some wines he was looking for. Fortunately, I did have those wines in my storage room. Although those wines were pretty good and rare ones, I did not get paid as much as I expected to. However, I still got more than I would have got at the market. It is lucky to have visitors who are looking for wine because those people are usually rich or noble people who buy the wines for higher prices. But there is this weird feeling towards the rich people that is inside me. Although I really like them coming to my farm, but the fact that they are so rich to even come buy the specific wines in higher prices than in markets. Every friend of mine looks for the cheapest price in the market, in order to save a franc. I really feel that our life is so unfair. Although I work this hard, I don’t think I am getting rewarded for the works I do.
Oh, also when I went by the church while coming back home from the market to check out the prices of wine, I saw many other farmers and peasant in front of the church begging for some money. Many of them started to shout out “What does church really do?” or “Aren’t they supposed to help us not take money away from us?” After the nobles hearing these from inside the church they shouted in an angry manner “How dare you guys question the church! We are equal and we serve for all. You guys do not have any reason to question and you should not either!” I wanted to go shout at the noble too with the other farmers and peasants, however I had a job where relationships were important so I could not just go there to just shout out few words.
I have to go to sleep now. Good night. I'll write something more tomorrow.
Diary #2: From Crisis to Revolution (Diaries from "The Moderate Stage", Reading 2)
Task: You have read Reading 2: The Moderate Stage.Length: 500 words per diary. (We will do a word count. It's not an essay, so you should let things fly--but do revise and polish.)
Due date: Wednesday September 17 8 am
Where to publish: On your character's diary page (linked in the table at the bottom.)
Grading standards: In each diary entry, show images of this event in France, as experienced by a person in the social class of your character. Give us glimpses of your character's environment, actions, and thoughts. Have them talk about, think about, and act with or against people from other classes also. Make it realistic. Give your character voice and personality. Include at least one detail (image or dialog) that shows the following factors in your character's life during your 2 chosen events:
- political factors
- economic factors
- daily life
Finally: "Steal" and include in each entry at least one other student's character from each Estate . You can read all characters' diaries by clicking on their links in the "Diaries" Table at the bottom of this page. (You can include more characters if you want. That would be fun.) This is a revolution. Allow all the chaos of it to happen in your diary. LINK YOUR DIARY TO EVERY STUDENT'S DIARY THAT YOU STEAL A CHARACTER FROM.Today had been a gloomy day. It was raining since the morning, and while working too. It was harder for me to work in the rain and in bad environment and made me tired even more. After picking grapes for few hours after noon, I took my basket full of grapes and went to the market to sell them. I’m not sure whether it is because of the rain or not, but not many people were at the market. And I did not sell a lot either. When I was cleaning up my spot in the market getting ready to go home, I saw a soldier pasting a piece of paper with lots of words written on the wooden bulletin board. I walked toward the piece of paper and read what it said. “The Declaration of Rights of Man” I was at first excited to read and thought to myself ‘we are finally being treated somewhat equally’
However as I read down the big list of “Rights” I couldn’t keep it on. Only the title says the “Rights” however the actual words that were written on the sheet was “crap” I resisted my anger rushing up to my head. All the unfair things the nobles and clergymen do to us…I am so sick of what they do to us. They are like fat pigs who only thinks about them and has no respect or manners. They might look like they have “manners” but inside them? I’d say full of evilness and egoness. I calmed my self down and continued to walk back home and I saw the church. In front of the church, there were few nobles standing together laughing, laughing and laughing. I don’t know what makes them laugh so much like a devil who made a baby cry, I could see their shadows of greediness. It just drives me crazy that the fact that they have been doing this for centuries even to my father.
Also, the National Assembly has been formed few weeks ago, and I am giving my hope in for that. If the National Assembly can’t change anything, I am pretty sure we’re status or rights won’t change any further for quite a long time. We have to go against the nobles or first and second estates to get our equality. I can’t let this country ruin and crumble down like a piece or garbage... Oh well, I wish Louis can make right decisions that will develop France one step further not get trip and fall down. Dear diary, I am feeling a little bit sleepy right now, so I will stop writing here today. I know it doesn’t change much by writing all this crap in this diary, but I need someone or something to express my feeling towards the country because this is the country I live in and I love. Good night.
Diary #3-The Reign of Terror
Task: You have read Reading 3-Reign of Terror on the Moodle as well as pages 45-49 in your text
Length: 500 words per diary. (We will do a word count. It's not an essay, so you should let things fly--but do revise and polish.)
Due date: Saturday September 20 8 pm
Where to publish: On your character's diary page (linked in the table at the bottom.) Grading standards: In each diary entry, show images of this event in France, as experienced by a person in the social class of your character. Give us glimpses of your character's environment, actions, and thoughts. Have them talk about, think about, and act with or against people from other classes also. Make it realistic. Give your character voice and personality. Include at least one detail (image or dialog) that shows the following factors in your character's life during your 2 chosen events:
Finally: Include one other character in your diary.This is a revolution. Allow all the chaos of it to happen in your diary. LINK YOUR DIARY TO EVERY STUDENT'S DIARY THAT YOU STEAL A CHARACTER FROM.
Diary #3
Dear Diary,
I’m scared. I’m afraid. I see Jacobins putting nobles in to the guillotine everyday, every hour, and every second. Jacobins are group of people who hate nobles and clergymen, in a “mad” way, which has been recently putting every noble or clergyman on the guillotine they see on the street or at church in the lead of a man called
Maximillian Robespierre. Although the Jacobins are “our team” they still scare me, and some of my friends. I’ve heard from my friend Francios about him seeing the Jacobins being executed in the guillotine. However to be real honest, I do feel kind of good. Well, I don’t necessary enjoy the way they are being executed and killed in a brutal way, but I like the fact that they are vanishing. Because this means that the higher classes will no longer exist, and everyone would be equal in status. It’s finally the day we were all waiting for.
I also heard that the King Louis has been put at guillotine few days ago. When I heard this I had two thoughts in my head: One, I was pretty surprised at the fact that the King Louis was so “easily” put to death, when I used to thought he was “untouchable” meaning he is too high up there for us to even touch him. And another thought I had in my mind was fear. I was afraid that another tyrant leader might take over the place of the king and be another Louis. In this stage of terror in France, I am not sure, or nobody is really sure what will happen next and what will be the result for the actions.
I know they are all doing this in order to “improve” the garbage like France. However I have to question whether this is the right thing to do. Even if the result turns out to be good, can it really be called “good” or “improved” when the process of achieving it was all wrong? Is killing all the nobles and taking higher estate away by using violence a right way to achieve our goal of making a “better France” I’m not sure. Many of my friends actually do support the San Culottes or Jacobins for their actions, but I am really confused about it. I just hope no consequences will follow after this great massacre, even if it was for the “good of the whole” Whole, being us, or the majority.
I almost forgot to write about my day. Well, I did not go to farm today. I know I am little short on my money but I just couldn’t work in the middle of this terror. I decided that talking with my friends and family about what is going on in France was more important than making wines and making money. Well, today was a pretty simple but confusing day, which I know it makes no sense. It means I did nothing physically, but did a lot of work inside my head. I’m tired of thinking. I’m going to stop writing. I’ll write some ore when I need to.